A Mistake Not Meant to Bear Fruit [Naruto x Hanabi]

Chapter 9: An Eventful Evening

A/N: It's been a while, enjoy :)

Naruto and Hanabi were currently getting ready for a small gathering. What gathering, you might be wondering? A few days ago, the guys of the Konoha 12 came to visit Naruto, telling him to find a date for a get-together that the rest of the Konoha 12 were having. As troublesome as it was, Naruto asked Hanabi to be his 'date' for the small gathering. It went something like this;

FLASHBACK

Hanabi had just gotten back home. She had come to the conclusion that her actions were foolish and that she had gotten flustered for no significant reason, worrying about something as small as an indirect kiss was childish. Thus, she finished her Ramen and came back to her new home. When she arrived, she saw Naruto in the living room. He looked visibly nervous and Hanabi wondered why. Naruto had still been contemplating about how he should ask Hanabi when she had arrived at the house. Since he hadn't decided on a specific way, he just decided to ask her straight out. 

"I'm back." She lazily announced. Naruto was already waiting for her.

"W-Welcome back." Naruto said nervously. Now Hanabi couldn't help but be worried, even though Hanabi hadn't known him long, she knew that the blonde shinobi was rarely nervous, mostly being exuberant and cheerful.

"Is everything okay?" Hanabi asked, her eyebrows furrowed worriedly.

"W-Well, I have something to ask you." Naruto explained.

"What is it?" Hanabi asked. She would no doubt do anything Naruto wanted her to do within reason. It was the least she could do since he helped her through this dilemma of hers.

"Earlier today, some friends visited me and told me about a get together they were having. N-Naturally, they're bringing dates, and when they brought up having dates, they told me that I should bring one too." Naruto was nervous about asking her because he didn't want to make her uncomfortable or put her in a weird position. 

She didn't have to be his date if she didn't want to be, If she declined his request, then he would either ask one of his fangirls (who Naruto knew would say yes, but at the same time, he knew their feelings weren't genuine so he didn't prefer that option.) or end up going alone.

Naruto knew that if he didn't bring a date everyone would be fine with it. But he didn't want to look lonely in front of everyone. No matter how strong and confident he was, he still had insecurities, and one of those insecurities was him being alone, something he feared. Nonetheless, Hanabi could see where this was going, and her reddening face indicated this and Naruto could tell that she knew what he was indicating.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to. I don't want you to do something you don't want to do." Naruto assured.

Hanabi wanted to oblige to Naruto's request, but there were things that Hanabi needed to take into account. The first thing was about anyone seeing them in public because people would no doubt wonder what someone who was always known as cheerful was doing with someone known as stoic and reserved.

The second thing would be the presence of Hinata. When Naruto said 'friends', Hanabi knew that he was talking about the Konoha 12, which included Hinata. And considering the unfriendly terms that the sisters were on, Hanabi definitely would not be looking forward to seeing her there. But at the same time, Hanabi felt like she needed to help him, so she accepted his offer. 

"N-No, it's okay. I-I'll go with you." She stuttered, her face flushing. A wave of relief passed over Naruto's face and it didn't go unnoticed by Hanabi.